Randomized controlled trials of abdominal acupuncture (1992–2012): An assessment of reporting quality with a CONSORT- and STRICTA-based instrument

Objective: To assess the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of abdominal acupuncture submitted from 1992 to 2012. Methods: Collect all RCTs of abdominal acupuncture from 1992 to 2012 through computer-based retrieval and manual information retrieve. CBM, CNKI, VIP, Wan Fang Data, PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine library magazines database were used as the object source. Then, assess the reporting quality of the RCTs which met the inclusion criteria with a CONSORT- and STRICTA-based instrument. Results: The reporting quality of 107 RCTs, which met inclusion criteria, improved annually (P<;0.05). But the average score of more than half (n =16, 59.3%) questions less than 1. Our findings suggest that to enhance quality of reporting, authors should better attend to 16 specific OCSI items in 4 categories: practitioner training, aspects of randomization and blinding, additional analyses such as subgroup or adjusted analyses, and adverse events. The broad diversity in 107 RCTs, viewed in light of the considerable room for improvement in mean OCSI scores, emphasizes the importance of making STRICTA as well as CONSORT more widely known to abdominal acupuncture research community.